MUMBAI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - India's coffee exports fell 22 percent in 2009 as a crop shortage along with weak overseas demand continued to weigh, an official from the Coffee Board said on Tuesday.
Total exports in Jan-Dec stood at 152,769 tonnes compared with 196,527 tonnes in the year-ago period.
The government-owned Coffee Board, in its post-monsoon estimate, cut 2009/10 coffee production forecast to 289,600 tonnes, down 5.45 percent or 16,700 tonnes from the previous post-blossom estimate of 306,300 tonnes.
Total arabica exports in Jan-Dec stood at 30,127 tonnes and total robusta exports stood at 96,153 tonnes.
Arabica is mainly used in premium coffees, while robusta, which makes up 70 percent of the country's output, is typically blended with arabica beans for a lower-cost option for brewed coffee, or processed into instant coffee.
Instant coffee exports in the twelve months stood at 26,249 tonnes from 39,309 tonnes in the same period a year earlier. The country produces only 4.5 percent of the world's coffee, but exports 70-80 percent of its output. Italy, Germany and Russia are the top three buyers of Indian coffee.
Italy accounts for about 25 percent of the country's coffee exports, followed by the Russian Federation and Germany at 9 percent and 7.8 percent respectively.
Source : REUTERS